PAYNE and TODD FAMILY HISTORY: a COLLECTION OP PRIMARY RESOURCE MATERIAL 1720 to 1987
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PAYNE AND TODD FAMILY HISTORY: A COLLECTION OP PRIMARY RESOURCE MATERIAL 1720 to 1987 A Report Submitted June 7, 1989, to the Office of History, Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Jeffry William Hartman, Historian, Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Introduction to "Todd and Payne Family History" The following is a collection of mostly primary research that I have collected over the past year. At first, I had set out to write an article on the Todds and Paynes, and the home that the National Park Service presently owns at Fourth and Walnut Streets. My goal was to present an accurate depiction of the people that lived in the home, as well as the friends, family and associates that effected their lives. This objective was greatly complicated by popular folklore and the many romantic myths created and perpetuated by eighteenth century biographers. My essay was quickly becoming a confusing response to these fictitious historical beliefs, so instead, I changed the format of my report to be a collection of research that would assist the efforts of future historians of the subject, and would permit readers to develop their own interpretations of the history of the Payne and Todd families, and the home at Fourth and Walnut. The value of this report includes its illustration of the importance of the Paynes and Todds extended family, insight into the personalities, successes and failures of these characters, and a more factual presentation of life in the Todd home. As you will see, Dolley's family, the Paynes, played a large role in the lives of those that lived at Fourth 2 and Walnut. The Paynes were certainly not models for eighteenth century Quakers as shown by the fact that nearly all of them are excommunicated at one time or another. But, prior to Dolley's own excommunication for marrying a non Quaker in 1794 (James Madison), she does not appear to have been any sort of rebel. In fact, she attempts throughout her life to raise her mischievous son (John) Payne to be a Quaker, and she never joins another church until 1848, a year before her death. Dolley, however, was not the overly kind-hearted lady that many biographers portray her to be. The is best reflected by her 1794-1796 lawsuit against the father of Isaac Heston, John's legal clerk. Mrs. Madison was seeking rent and fees owed by Heston despite the fact that Isaac died only half a year into the contract and that Isaac's death had much to do with John's refusal to evacuate from the city during the Yellow Fever Epidemic of Fall 1793. I do not intend to suggest that Dolley was a mean or greedy lady, but, the evidence that I have collected shows a less charitable lady than American folklore and the romanticists have described. John Todd was an extremely promising lawyer who loved hunting game birds with friends and his dog "Pointer." John's legal practice was extremely prosperous, and at the time of his death he was on the bar at Philadelphia Common Pleas, the 3 Pennsylvania State Supreme Court, and the United States Supreme Court. He was working well over 45 cases each court term, and, in Spring of 1793, he was so busy he hired Isaac Heston as a legal apprentice. Unfortunately, John was so entrenched in his practice, that, during the Yellow fever Epidemic, he refused to follow his family to Grey's Ferry. Despite, Isaac's late September death, as well as both John Todd's parents deaths in early October, John Todd Jr. remained at the Fourth and Walnut home doing legal work until he died in the house in October that year. John appears to have also been gaining great prominence in Quaker society, probably due to the successful practice. He was not a Quaker elder, but his high social rank is noticeable due to a July 1793 crisis that was extremely disagreeable with Quaker tradition. In July 1793, John Todd Jr. challenged a man to a duel. Who he was to duel, and why, is unknown. The mere fact that a successful attorney, let alone a Quaker attorney, would fight a duel when he could easily file suit, shows the weight of the disagreement or insult. Yet, when the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting discussed the matter, they did not expel John (which they were quite good at), but instead they commissioned a committee to go and meet with John and mediate the problem. John's prominence is shown by the high-ranking Friends assigned to meet with John, including James Pemberton, David Bacon, Isaac Lane and Owen 4 Jones. These men were among the "cream" of 1793 Quaker society. In addition, this research explains exactly who lived at the Todd House, and points out their life highlights. In the late Summer of 1793, seven people lived in the home: Dolley (age 25), John Jr. (30), their sons (both of whom were called by their middle names) (John) Payne (1) and (William) Temple (an infant), Dolley's sisters Anna (13) and Lucy (15), and John Jr.•s apprentice Isaac Heston (23). It is possible that there were servants in the house, but unfortunately, little is known about the servants in either the Payne or Todd family. The presence of Dolley's two teenage sisters may have precluded the need for full-time servants. This historian speculates that if the Todds did hire servants, they were probably only day servants. Dolley's mother's servant(s), at least one of which is known to have been a full-time servant, Mother Amy, probably helped the Todds when needed. Dolley's sister Anna lived with Dolley from the time of Dolley's 1790 marriage to John Todd until Anna herself married Congressman Richard Cutts of Maine District, Massachusetts, in 1804. Dolley affectionately referred to Anna, as her "sister-child." It is not clear when exactly Lucy moved in with her sister and brother-in-law. It is possible that she had moved when her mother, Mary "Molly" Payne, began to turn 6 their deaths. Payne was a prime reason for James and Dolley Madison's later financial failings, and his dealing away of family treasures to pay debts resulted in the scattering of Madison memorabilia which robbed his stepfather of later memorials. The best testament to the damage done by Payne's dealings, is the empty Montpelier Estate, at Orange, Virginia. This report has been documented as much as possible. All sources can be found in the Independence National Historical Park Library unless otherwise noted. Information that is not footnoted is biographers' information that is widely accepted, but that I could not confirm. As previously mentioned, many writers on the Paynes and Todds fabricated much of the information in their texts. Researchers should beware that not even the collection of Dolley Payne letters edited by her niece, Elizabeth E. Cutts, is fully accurate. The best writing on Paynes and Todds includes: Moore, Elizabeth. The Madisons. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., 1979. (However, some of her sources are questionable.) Arnett, Edith Stephens. The Incomparable Dolley. Greensboro, NC: Piedmont Press, 1972. (This is the most accurate biography.) Brandt, Irving. James Madison, Father of the Constitution 1787-1800. (2nd vol.). Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co. Inc., 1950. Chapter 31, "Dolley Madison," 401-414. (This gives an excellent short summary of Dolley Payne's early years.) 7 Research on the Paynes and Todds is not complete. I am submitting this now only due to an imposed deadline (I am going into the Army) • Readers and researchers will note that many interesting questions remain unanswered, and several articles of information remain unconfirmed. For historians, there is a wealth of material for essays and training sessions. Copies of this work can be obtained from Dave Dutcher in the Office of History. This document is on Dave Dutcher's computer hard drive under the assignments: PTT IT, PT INTRO and PT. May this information on the Payne and Todd families' history, be useful to the public and the National Park Service, and may this collection of research be merely the start of another historians work. Thank you. TODD AND PAYNE FAMILY HISTORY LEGEND: b. - Birth m. - Marriage d. - Death NOTE: In this report, John Todd Sr., his son, John Todd Sr., and his grandson, John Todd Jr. are referred to by number: (I), (II), and (III). These men were not called by these numbers. I have labelled them to alleviate confusion as to which John Todd I am referring. 1720. June 6th: m. Margaret Cain Todd & John Todd sr. (I) pass first meeting, at New Garden, Chester County, PA, [later grandparents of John Todd Jr.(III)]. 1 1720. Auaust 20th: m. Margaret Cain Todd & John Todd Sr. (I) pass second meetin~ and are married, at New Garden, Chester County, PA. 1730: b. Mary Derborow Todd, at New Garden, Chester County, PA, daughter of Mary Cain Todd & John Todd Sr. (I), [later mother of John Todd Jr.(III)]. 3 1Records from Friends' Library at Swarthmore College, New Garden Monthly Meeting, Chester County Meeting, PA, (June 6, 1720). *** All Quaker marriages and births in this report were taken from the Swarthmore County Quaker Collection Records. These same records can also be found in Hinshaw•s Quaker Records Directory which is availabe at most Philadelphia and college libraries. Both collections contain the Monthly Meeting Records of all the meetings on the east coast and midwest. The Quaker Collection at Haverford College also holds these records although it concentrates mainly on meetings in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.